A Novel Approach (To Me)

I thought I’d share some more photos.  We are standing in front of the helicopter on Saturday morning about to board to fly over the harbour and Manhatten.

I’m on the helicopter, locked and loaded and only a tiny bit nervous after the safety session that included instructions on inflating my life jacket.  I can’t imagine that if we crash, I’d actually survive to do that. Hence the very nervous grin (notice the raised eyebrows).

Chinatown was interesting.  I definitely felt out of place.  Oddly, the most common displays outside the stores were of sensible black shoes.  All the tiny Chinese grandmothers were hovering and elbowing people around those displays while tiny bent Chinese grandfathers shot disapproving looks at us. Quite humorous, really.  I also saw some interesting food items in the shop windows…such as cooked ducks with heads still attached. It’s an acquired taste I guess?

There seemed to be some form of food festival happening in Little Italy.  The streets were jammed. I absolutely can’t imagine how anyone suffering from claustrophobia would handle this.

We took the subway to Upper Manhattan and got off at Grand Central station.  This is a picture of the concourse.  No pictures could ever do the architecture justice.  It was amazing.

About two blocks from Grand Central Station is the Chrysler Building.  It’s unbelievable.  It’s so tall that you can’t take a picture when you get to the building, because you can’t see the top when you look up.

We got lost inside the NYC Public Library.  It was amazing, but it is so huge that it was difficult to find anything.  We loved walking around inside it though…we are both geeks like that. This is the research room.  They have security guards outside the door that check your bags before you leave the room.  I guess book stealers are rampant in NYC?

This is the Apple Store on 5th Avenue (another “geek” visit).  It’s just off Central Park.  It was unbelievably busy.  The glass cube marks the store above ground. You then need to go inside and downstairs to the actual store which is located underneath the roadway. I played with the iPad, Macbook Air and Macbook Pro.  I tried to find a case for my iPod Touch 4g but they just aren’t out yet.  We had fun looking though.

Right next door to the Apple store (and above ground) is FAO Schwartz, possibly the most famous toy store in the world.  We went in to find the Big Piano that Tom Hanks played in the movie “BIG”.  It was actually quite amazing.  Two staff members were playing it when we got there.  They were dancing on the keys and playing very complicated classical music…very impressive.  That store is absolutely an amazing place for kids (and those who are kids at heart).

Then we went off to Central Park.  It was lovely, clean and well maintained.  It’s a huge green-space in the middle of a concrete urban area.  The thought hit us that if you grew up your whole life in Manhattan, this might be one of the only ways you would or could experience grass.  What an odd thought for a country girl.

NYC is a wonderful place to visit, but I couldn’t imagine living there.

Well, we had a wonderful time in New York City.  We stayed at The London NYC on 54th street (just a few streets below Central Park, two blocks from 5th Avenue and 6 blocks from Times Square).  Not only did it have an amazing restaurant (THE Gordon Ramsey), but the rooms were amazing!  As you can see from the picture, it’s a very tall hotel.  All the buildings in NYC are very tall.

After we got settled in and had a great meal, we hit Broadway to take in a show.  We ended up seeing Rock of Ages which was absolutely awesome in a cheesy, fantastic, big hair, 80′s music sort of way. I’d highly recommend it…but would also suggest you go with 10 of your closest friends.  That’s the only way I can think that the show could have been better.  We had a blast.

The next day we took a helicopter tour of the harbour and the Statue of Liberty.  I may do a photo blog this week just of a few key pictures from the trip.  I loved the heli tour.  I’d do it again in a minute!  After that we headed to Chinatown, then up to Canal Street to do a bit of shopping.  We bought some post cards for the girls and dropped them into a fantastic old post office on Canal Street.  It had the old wickets and drop boxes.

We went back to the hotel for afternoon tea and then headed to Central Park and 5th Avenue.  I went to the Apple store on 5th Avenue (very cool and very busy!) and then we went to FAO Schwartz to see the Big Piano. I have to say, that store has to be kiddie heaven!

That night we had a lovely 7 course meal at Gordon Ramsey’s.  It was, by far, the most expensive meal I’ve ever had, but it was delicious.  I have no regrets.  After that we headed back to Times Square and spent some time people watching and buying souvenirs for the girls.

Sunday morning we found a fabulous little organic cafe to sit and have breakfast and people watch.

That’s me having coffee with the Radio City Music Hall in the background. It was just down the street from the cafe. Oh yes, those bags under my eyes…that was caused by Times Square. We stayed up too late the night before…in awe of the energy and the people.

And that’s Jeff having his coffee.  Rockefeller Centre was just down the street to the right of where he was sitting at the cafe.

All in all, I found NYC to be a great place to visit.  The city is incredibly clean, easy to navigate and–where we were–very safe.  I never once felt uncomfortable.  It was a wonderful place to spend our anniversary and I’ll go back again.

Well, our trip to NYC had a rough start because…well, we missed our plane. They booked us onto the next flight out–4 hours later. We made the best of it. The picture is of Jeff and I waiting at the airport…we are even smiling
We are now checked in at the hotel and the room is great! We’re headed to dinner in a few minutes and then out to see a show on Broadway.

I thought I’d do a quick test post from my iPod. This one has a camera which is going to make posting when I’m traveling a lot easier!
The picture I’ve attached is of my 12 year old daughter. It was taken in low light so the picture is pretty bad. However, it takes not a pretty good picture in good lighting. The camera on the iPod isn’t really meant to replace a point and shoot, but it will do in a pinch.

There are very few things as tragic as the attack that happened on 9/11 that let our American friends know they were at war.  Like most people, I know exactly where I was when it happened.  It was a day off and my husband and I were working on our house. I happened to flip on the TV and news reports were flowing in.  The first tower had been hit and I was seeing replays.  It was only later that the second tower fell.  In that moment, the lives of so many people were changed irreparably.  Nothing would ever be the same.

Hate is not the answer.  Hate is never the answer…

I’ve decided to take my husband away on a short trip for our 16th anniversary (Sept 17th).  I’ve booked a hotel, made arrangements with a few of my girlfriends to farm out my four children and now I’m planning the details.  I think the planning is almost as fun as the trip may turn out to be.  There has only been negative experience in the planning process so far.  The hotel claimed to have the ultimate concierge service…promising an excellent experience. So, not being terribly shy–and feeling I’m already paying too much for the hotel and entitled to a little “excellent” concierge service–I called them up with a few requests.  Here’s how it went:

Me: Could you please arrange to have the hotel “sedan” pick us up at the airport (it appears to be a free service listed on the website).

Concierge: Sure, I’d be happy to arrange that for you Miss Smith (oh, how flattering to be called Miss).  The cost is only $150 each way.

Me: (After a shocked pause).  Ummm, in thinking about it, a Yellow Cab might be fun. I hear they are an experience that should not be missed.

C: Of course, ma’am (No way–did he really just sniff and call me ma’am? Wasn’t I a “miss” just a moment ago). They are $35 and DON’T require a reservation.

Me: Ok, that sounds perfect. Listen, I think it would be nice to take Afternoon Tea in our room.  Could you arrange for it to be waiting for us when we get there?

C: Sorry, it is only served downstairs.

Me: But it’s listed on the website “in-room dining” menu.

C: Oh.

Me: So, is that a no?

C: Yes.

Me: Yes?

C: No. The website is wrong.

Me: Oh.

Me: Ok, this is my last request.  I really hope you can help me with this one. Are you ready?

C: Yes ma’am. (aaak…again with the ma’am)

Me: We are arriving at 1pm but check in is at 3pm.  Could you arrange an early check in for us?

C: Of course, we would love to do that for you (Thank goodness, finally a yes!)  BUT it cannot be guaranteed in advance and is subject to availability.

Me: Oh. So is that a yes or a no?

C: I’ll put a note on your reservation.

I think that was a “no” disguised as a “yes”. I have to say, if that is the best concierge service in NYC, I’m afraid to think what a bad concierge would be like.  By the way, I am going to order Afternoon Tea from the room service menu when I get there…I’ll just bet the website is right and he just didn’t want to follow up to check.

Oh well, I’m not letting that stop me from having fun. I’ve mapped out some walking tours. I’m dying to walk Chinatown and get some authentic dim sum.

I also want to do all the other touristy walking tours (see the Chrysler Building, NYC Library, Central Park, 5th Avenue, etc).  We’ll definately tour Times Square…there are a few pubs I want to check out.

Overall, it promises to be a whirlwind tour and lots of fun. I have our days planned to see as much as we can in the 3 days we are there, but if we want to relax and throw away the schedule and see less, I’m all for that too.

I’m finishing up a writing course I’ve been taking.  The instructor has been amazing and I have a few more tools in my belt–so it was money well spent.  I have more to learn (will I ever NOT have more to learn?) and have signed up for another course that starts in November that focuses on the art of writing scenes.  The break will give me time to write, to read the course material, and to participate in the 3 Day Novel Contest!!   I’m so excited!

Well, after an extended vacation, I’m back!

We took the kids camping over the holidays, but I don’t have any pictures up yet.  The weather was great and we had a blast.  I came back for one week at work and then jumped on a plane and headed to Calgary for the weekend to pick up my daughter who was visiting my mom.

We had a great time!  I had hoped to see the “River of Light” event while I was in Calgary but, unfortunately, the timing didn’t work out. I popped over to Heather’s blog and, luckily, she did a great job of capturing the event!

I did get to Banff and visited the Fairmont Hotel.  Now that’s an amazing spot.  I think next time I’ll bring my bathing suit and hit the hot springs!!

Afterwards we did some shopping in Banff and then headed out to do some sight seeing in the area.  We took a drive to Lake Minnewanka (my niece calls it Lake Willy Wonka). Now that’s a beautiful spot!

It’s a glacier fed lake (or so I am told) and I believe it.  That water was COLD! There scuba divers preparing for a dive and they were in full dry suits with layers of clothes underneath.

Yah, so the scuba divers were layering up and what does my daughter say? “Hey, I’m going to go for a swim.”.  What did I say? Something to the effect of “Have you lost your mind?”

Do you see the teeny tiny head in this picture.  That is my daughter swimming and shouting something to the effect of “my arms are getting numb”.  The scuba girl asked me if we were from Ontario.  I said, “yes, how did you know”.  She said “because only someone from Ontario would swim in that lake”.  I’m not sure what she meant by that, exactly. LOL!

Oh, by the way…remember the bikini trauma?  That’s my 15 year old daughter. Feel my pain people…

Just as we were loading back into our minivan–a.k.a. “the tour bus” (and while I was covering my child with as much clothing as I could muster up), we encountered…mountain goats!

The next day we went shopping and we went to the Calgary Tower.  Have I mentioned my fear of heights?  There is a section that is a glass (well, more likely plexi-glass) floor.  Here is the view if you stand on it.

Yep, that’s a loooooooooonnnnnggggg way down!  Did you know that children can smell fear? I know because my daughter smelled mine and made me get on the glass to take a picture.  Did I mention that I’m so afraid of heights that I won’t even get on a ferris wheel?

So, is the smile convincing?  Do I look like I’m having fun? Nope, I didn’t think so.  I was white knuckling it. Still, it is a fun picture.  Good times.

We’ve been invited by friends to go out on their boat with them today. We are fortunate to live in one of the most scenic areas for boating in Ontario, if not in all of Canada.

I’m busy preparing a picnic lunch and making sure the girls are all dressed (and sun-blocked) properly for the trip.  My 13 year old daughter just came downstairs with her older sister’s bikini on.  Needless to say she’s pouting in her room right now because I’ve sent her up to put HER bathing suit on…a nice tankini that covers like a normal bathing suit.  Oy veh. This is going to be a long few years. LOL!

I can’t wait to get out on the boat. It will be good to feel the sun on my face and the wind in my hair.  Today promises to be a very good day!

We are starting to plan a trip south in February and I can’t wait!  We’ve been to the Mayan Riviera in Mexico at that time of year, but it wasn’t as warm as I would have hoped.  This time we are looking farther south in the Caribbean Sea.  We looked at Aruba but have settled on their neighbor Curaçao instead.

It’s a small island but there is plenty to do.  I like that it is a lesser known island with less of a chance of being a tourist trap.  Their Dutch heritage (along with Spanish and African) makes for a very colourful culture that matches the colourful buildings in the harbours.

Here’s the best part:

They have 35 gorgeous beaches, crystal clear water (check out the shadows under the boats in the picture) and almost perfect weather. The average temperature in February is 85 degrees. The average daily low is 24. They benefit from trade winds so even when it gets very hot, you don’t feel it. Guess how much rain they get in February? An average of 1 inch…usually at night.  Could it be any more perfect? I just don’t think so…